View source for Titus Larcius

{{Short description|Early 5th-century BC Roman senator and general}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Titus Larcius
| birth_date    = 
| death_date    = 
| resting_place = 
| nationality   = Roman
| occupation    = 
| years_active  = {{c.}} 501–493 BC
| office        = [[Roman consul|Consul]] (501, 498 BC)<br>[[Roman dictator|Dictator]] (501 BC)
| children      = 
| relatives     = [[Spurius Larcius]] (brother)
}}

'''Titus Larcius'''{{sfn|Münzer|loc=col. 797}}<ref>Broughton, vol. I, pp=9, 10 (and note 1)</ref>{{sfn|Ogilvie|p=259}} (surnamed '''Flavus''' or '''Rufus'''; {{fl}} {{c.}} 501–493 BC) was a Roman general and statesman during the early [[Roman Republic|Republic]], who served twice as [[Roman consul|consul]] and became the first [[Roman dictator]].<ref name="DGRBM T Lartius Flavus">''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. II, p. 175 ("T. Lartius Flavus").</ref>

==Background==
The [[Lartia gens|Larcii]], whose ''[[Roman naming conventions|nomen]]'' is also spelled ''Lartius'' and ''Largius'', were an [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] family at [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] during the early years of the Republic. Their nomen is derived from the Etruscan ''[[praenomen]] Lars''.<ref>''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. II, p. 723 ("Lartia Gens").</ref><ref>Chase, p. 129.</ref> Titus' brother, [[Spurius Larcius]], was one of the heroes of the Republic, who defended the [[Pons Sublicius|wooden bridge]] over the [[Tiber]] at the side of [[Horatius Cocles]] and [[Titus Herminius Aquilinus|Titus Herminius]].<ref>Livy, ii. 10.</ref> Titus held the consulship twice, in 501 and 498. His brother Spurius Larcius also was twice consul, in 506 and 490 BC.<ref name="DGRBM T Lartius Flavus"/><ref>Dionysius, v. 24, 25, 36, vii. 68.</ref>

==Career==
Larcius' first consulship was in 501 BC, the ninth year of the Republic. His colleague was [[Postumus Cominius Auruncus]]. During their year of office, there was a disturbance at Rome, which was attributed to the actions of a group of young [[Sabines]]. Only the previous year, the consul [[Spurius Cassius Vecellinus]] had defeated the Sabines near [[Cures, Sabinum|Cures]], and for a while it appeared that the war might be rekindled. Tensions were also high because it was anticipated that war with the [[Latins (Italic tribe)|Latins]] was imminent. [[Octavius Mamilius]], the prince of [[Tusculum]], and son-in-law of [[Lucius Tarquinius Superbus]], the seventh and last [[King of Rome]], was forming [[Latin League|an alliance]] amongst the thirty towns of [[Latium]], with the aim of restoring Tarquin to the throne.<ref name="Livy ii 18">Livy, ii. 18</ref><ref name="Dionysius v 71">Dionysius, v. 71.</ref>

In these circumstances it was decided to appoint a single magistrate, originally called the ''praetor maximus'' or ''magister populi'', "master of the infantry", but afterwards known simply as the ''dictator'', to oversee the defence of the city. The dictator held supreme authority in the exercise of his duties, and the people had no right to appeal from his decisions, as they could under the consuls. However, the command of the dictator was limited to a period of six months. The [[Roman Senate|Senate]] directed the consuls to nominate a dictator, and Cominius chose his colleague, Larcius. The dictator then proceeded to nominate Spurius Cassius, who had triumphed over the Sabines the previous year, as his ''[[magister equitum]]'', or "master of the horse".<ref name="Livy ii 18"/><ref name="Dionysius v 71"/><ref>''Oxford Classical Dictionary'', ''s.v. dictator''.</ref>

The creation of this magistracy is said to have alarmed the Sabines, who sent envoys to Rome in order to avert war. The negotiations were unsuccessful, and [[Roman-Sabine wars#Bloodless war, 501 BC|war was declared]], but both sides were reluctant to take the field, and no battle occurred.  During the remainder of his office, Larcius held the [[Roman censor|census]], negotiated with the various Latin towns in hopes of retaining some old allies and gaining new ones, and presided over the consular elections for the following year.  He then laid down his office before the expiration of his term, setting a precedent for future dictators.<ref>Dionysius, v. 76, 77.</ref>

Larcius held the consulship a second time in 498 BC, with [[Quintus Cloelius Siculus]].  During this year, the long anticipated war with the Latins began. The dictator [[Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis|Aulus Postumius Albus]] led the Roman forces to victory at the [[Battle of Lake Regillus]], while the consul Larcius captured the town of [[Fidenae]]. After leaving his magistracy, Larcius is said by Dionysius to have dedicated the temple of [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]] at the foot of the [[Capitoline Hill]].<ref>Dionysius, v. 50, 59, 60; vi. 1.</ref><ref>Livy, ii. 21.</ref>

As ''[[praefectus urbi]]'' in 494, Larcius unsuccessfully advocated measures to relieve the [[plebs]] from the burdens of debt;<ref>Broughton, vol. I, p. 14.</ref><ref>Dionysius, vi. 40.</ref><ref>Livy, ii. 29.</ref> and when the plebeians [[First secessio plebis|seceded]] from the city and encamped on the [[Monte Sacro|Mons Sacer]], Larcius was one of the envoys sent by the senate to treat with them. The embassy was successful, and resulted in the institution of the [[tribune|tribunes of the people]]. 

Also in 493, Larcius served as [[legatus|legate]] to the consul Cominius, his colleague in 501, at the siege of [[Corioli]], where [[Gaius Marcius Coriolanus]] gained fame through his valour.<ref>Dionysius, vi. 81, 92.</ref><ref>Plutarch, "The Life of Coriolanus", 8.</ref>

==Historical uncertainty==
An alternative tradition states that the first dictator was Manius Valerius, the son of [[Marcus Valerius Volusus]], consul in 505 BC. However, the historian [[Livy]] believed it unlikely that a man who had not yet been consul would be appointed the first dictator, or that Manius Valerius would have been nominated in place of his father.<ref name=":0">Livy, ii. 18.</ref> Another tradition places the institution of the dictatorship three years later, in 498 BC, during Larcius' second consulship. In that year, Livy states that Aulus Postumius Albus was appointed dictator, and led the Roman army to victory over the Latins at the Battle of Lake Regillus. However, this battle is also placed by some authorities in 496, when Postumius was consul.

==In literature==
Larcius appears as a Roman general in [[William Shakespeare]]'s play, ''[[Coriolanus]]'', based largely on the account of Coriolanus' life given in Plutarch, although Shakespeare may also have read Livy, and perhaps Dionysius.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], ''Romaike Archaiologia'' (Roman Antiquities).
* Titus Livius ([[Livy]]), ''[[Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Livy)|History of Rome]]''.
* Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ([[Plutarch]]), ''[[Parallel Lives|Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans]]''.
* ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'', [[William Smith (lexicographer)|William Smith]], ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849).
* George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII, pp. 103–184 (1897).
* [[Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton|T. Robert S. Broughton]], ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952–1986).
* ''[[Oxford Classical Dictionary]]'', N. G. L. Hammond and H. H. Scullard, eds., Clarendon Press, Oxford (Second Edition, 1970).
* {{wikicite |reference=[[Friedrich Münzer|Münzer, Friedrich]], "[[s:de:RE:Larcius 2|Larcius 2]]", ''[[Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft]]'' (''RE'', ''PW''), volume XII, part 1, columns 797–798 (Stuttgart, 1924).|ref={{sfnref|Münzer}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Ogilvie |year=1965 |first=R.M. |title=A Commentary on Livy, Books 1–5 |publisher=Clarendon Press |place=Oxford |authorlink=Robert Maxwell Ogilvie |ref={{sfnref|Ogilvie}} }}

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{{s-bef|before=[[Opiter Verginius Tricostus (consul 502 BC)|Opiter Verginius Tricostus]]|before2=[[Spurius Cassius Vecellinus]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Roman Republican consuls|Roman consul]]|years=501 BC|regent1=[[Postumus Cominius Auruncus]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Servius Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus]]|after2=[[Manius Tullius Longus]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Titus Aebutius Helva]]|before2=[[Gaius Vetusius Geminus Cicurinus]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Roman Republican consuls|Roman consul]] II|with=[[Quintus Cloelius Siculus]]|years=498 BC}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Aulus Sempronius Atratinus (consul 497 BC)|Aulus Sempronius Atratinus]]|after2=[[Marcus Minucius Augurinus]]}}
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[[Category:6th-century BC births]]
[[Category:5th-century BC deaths]]
[[Category:6th-century BC Roman consuls]]
[[Category:5th-century BC Roman consuls]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman generals]]
[[Category:Lartii|Titus]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman dictators]]